davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19
Left Alone with the Money.

The affairs of Montenegro were con-
Quoted in very peculiar fashion when
Lawrence Oliphant visited it, some
years ago, says Youths Compan-
ion. On arriving at the little town of
Cettinje, the capital of the principally,
he found that it contained no hotel,
but that room was made for the rare
stranger at clearinghouse containing
one or two spare bedrooms Having
been put in one of these chambers, he
found it simply furnished, and, as
there was no table, his dinner was
spread upon n large chest which it con-
tanned. While he was enjoying his re-
past the door suddenly opened and a
stalwart Montenegrin stalked in. Says
the traveller:
"He addressed me with great polite
ness in his native tongue; at least L
gathered from his manner that he was
polite, for | could not understand q
word he said.
IL rose and bowed with much cere-
mony, addressing him huently in the
English language, upon which he drew
an immense key from his pocket and
pointed to the lock of the chest, thus
giving me to understand that he wished
to open it.
"In order for him to accomplish this
it was necessary for me to remove my
dinner, an operation which was speed
lily performed. AS he seemed frank
and engaging sort of person, without
any secrets, looked over his shoulder
while he opened the chest, to see what
was in it.
"To my establishment, it was full to
the brim of bags of money. Not only
this, but my strange visitor opened
one of them, and poured out a handful
of gold.
when he had counted out what he
wanted, he tied up the bag again, re-
placed it, locked up the chest, helped
me with many Sclavonic expressions,
which l have no doubt were apologies,
to spread my banquet again, and, with
final polite salutation, vanished,
leaving me alone with the untold treas
ure which he had thus revealed to me.
"The absolute confidence placed in
me, an utter stranger, appalled, me,
and | went to sleep vainly trying to
unrival the mystery.
1T was not solved until next day,
when acquired the information that
the chest upon which / had dined con-
tanned the entire finances of the prin-
cipality, and that the Montenegrin
who had unlocked it. and vacated his
chamber in my behalf, was it's chancel-
lor of the exchequer."
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19
CURIOUS FACTS.

A GIRL in Wisconsin has horns on
her forehead, which she covers with
her hair.
A Houston (Texas) woman has pet
alligator that wags his tail when his
name is called.
COOP carpets from common moss
tHypnlIm pttlgdris) are the produc-
tion of French manufacturer.
IT is said that during It's period of
growth, Indian corn draws from the
soil thirty-six times its own weight of
water.
OF the 5,4OO,O 900 foreign emigrants
who have come to this country within
the last fourteen years, 1857, 400 had
no calling or trade.
WHILE digging well about twenty
miles from the Texas line in Lincoln
County. n. NJ, Mr.. j. III. Miller dis
covered an elephant tusk three feet
long and four inches in diameter. The
tusk was in a splendid state of preser-
exposed to the sun it began to crack
and shell. There was in sight at last
report rib bone in the side of the
well, bedded in white sand, and about
twelve inches thick. A tooth has also
since been dug out. Mr.. Miller thinks
the entire skeleton is near, as there is
no sign of wash or overflow.
A CURIOUS freak of electricity is re-
ported from Cundinamarcs, in Panama.
A farmer had been experimenting
some work in the fields and had left
his men to return home, when he was
surrounded by an electric flame, which
disappeared as quickly as it came. The
victims left eye was damaged, and the
eyebrow was burned completely off,
The hair surrounding his ears, part
of his beard, and all the hair on his
breast were burned off, all the brass
buttons disappeared from his clothing,
his watch chain was cut i'll two, small
hole was bored through his watch case,
and the watch glass was shattered and
his right side was burned. He suffered
severely, but is recovering rapidly.
AN observer down South says an al
igator's throat is an animated sewer.
Everything which lodges in his open
mouth goes down. He is a lazy dog,
and instead of hunting for something
W OuI hC lCbo ITO NlCtudlS NUM- lOI
That is, he lies with his great mouth
open, apparently dead, ike the pos
sum. Soon bug crawls into it, then
a fly, then several gnats, and colony
of mosquitoes. The alligator doesn't
close his mouth yet; he is waiting for
a whole drove of things; he does his
eating by wholesale. A Little later
lizard will cool himself under the
shade of the upper jaw; then few
frogs will hop up to catch the mos
quitoes; then more mosquitoes and
gnats will light on the frogs. Finally,
a whole village of insects and reptiles
settles down for an afternoon picnic;
then all at once there is an earthquake;
the big jaw falls, the alligator blinks
one eye, gulps down the entire men
agerie, and opens his great front door
again for more visitors.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19
EXCESSIVELY HONEST.
BY OPIE p. READ.

Very few negro preachers have ADAM
doned the pulpit on account of the van
tiles of recent religion or the dishonor-
able transactions which have been i'm
puted to the cloth. Among tho very
we may say solitary-few may be reck-
oned old Gus Marcus. Mischief breed
ers-and they are to be found in nearly
every congregation-decla that old
Gus gave up the calling which he had
so long pursued because his people
failed to pay him adequately, but those
who had most largely partaken of the
old mans rigid casUistry knew that he
could no longer associate with co-work-
ers who, while on their way to prayer
meeting, marked with calculating eve
the height of the chicken-roost, and
who heard, with the keen ear of inter
est, the turkeys sonorous gobble.
Gus moved to town, rented small
shanty, and opened a vegetable store.
He hung up a motto, which, with
almost pardonable pleon lsm, declared !:
"Widout no honesty dar amt no man
dat deserves ter prosper" and was ex-
planning it to several members of his
former flock when white man enter
ed, and, after looking around few
moments, said:
BY the way, / left my umbrella in
here this morning. It's lying over
there. Hand it to me, please"
Gus stared at him.
Il say, hand it to me, please"
Look yere, mister, L doan know yer
name, but Use gwine ter be nerlite wild
yer; so, es' femme tell yer ter go on
erbout yer biznesss erfairs an doan'
come 'roun' yere proiickin wild me
wen Use got erfairs ter ten ter. "
Il tell you that left that umbrella
here, and | want it,
"Oh, 1 knows mighty we'll w'ut yer
tells me. De closest 'quaintances j
eber had ain 'cused me o. bein def.
Oh, vas, / knows w'ut yer says.
"If you don't give me that umbrella
I'll go after an officer"
Oats one o. de rights o. de 'Meri-
can citizenship, sab, sot down by the
consertution an Tended by de Preser-
dent; but dar ain no clause in de lang
widge ter make er pusson gin up de
property dat he's dun 'cumerlated. Use
had dat 'brella er long time, sab; Ion
ger den yersef has been able ter 'dorse
fur yerse'f at de banks in dis town.
Bought dis 'brella wild some mighty
hard-'arned money. Go on, mister; go
on, fur Use in er 'scussion wild sum O
mer frien's."
The man hurriedly Withdrew. Old
Gus continued: Oats de way it is.
Dat wife man, eff he had been fotch up
right, mcut or been er honest pusson,
but ez il is, he gwine 'roun' de neigh.
borhood tryin' ter cheat folks outen
dar rights. | tell yer, dis yere worl
is going ter rack mighty fas'; On de
preachers, stead o. tryin' ter stop it.
pear to be smilin or de Romance.
The claimant of the umbrella, &C.
companied by an officer, entered the
store.
"Old man., said the officer, "thil
gentleman claims that umbrella"
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

tions of some soldiers, to which had
been lately added an occasional visit by
Lieutenant y. He was. or pro-
fessed to be, in love with one Of the
girls. Both she and her mother had
requested him not to trouble them, and
fearing that he would not heed the re-
quest. they had asked for a safeguard,
which had been furnished the night be-
fore in the person of Private Brigham.
To force safeguard" in military
parlance, is q grave crime. The officer
or soldier who would do it would lay
himself liable to no less penalty than
that of death! The safeguard stands
for the protection of peaceable citizens
and their property, and has the power
of the whole army ut his back.
1t is doubtful whether Private Brig
ham, fresh in the service as he was,
fully realized this; but he knew what
his orders were, and he was deter
mined to obey them. They were to
admit no one to the house but an Of
ticer on duty.
Some time after dark three horse
men rode up to the door and dismount-
ed One of them, Lieutenant y,
opened the door, and was confronted
with a bayonet at the end of mus
ket, in the hands of the resolute safe
guard. One of the women held a lamp
back in the hall.
What happened did not take two
minutes. The officer swore at Brig
ham, and ordered him to stand back.
The soldier told him fatty that he
could not enter, and that he would be
hurt if he tried it. The officer swore
again, was tainted b. his companion
outside for being kept back by IAN in
fantry toad-stabber, and he made a
rush. The soldier put the bayonet
straight through him. He must have
died instantly; his heart was cloven
through. He tumbled to the floor, and
Private Brigham stood again on guard.
There was more profanity outside. and
another man appeared on the steps and
attempted to enter. He, too, was warned,
but pressed on, and promptly received
the bayonet through his arm. He wait
ed for no more, but beat hasty re-
treat, was helped on his horse by the
orderly, and rode away.
On the report that l made to Cen
OIul DNlhub vi l. WIS VI
dered to defend the soldier whenever
he should be brought before court
martial. expected to have to do this,
and made ready to do it; but the occa-
sion never came. Brigham was never
tried, and honorably finished his serv-
ice. l never knew precisely why no
greater stir was made about the matter,
but the reasons are not hard to con-
lecture. The cavalry division in and
about Winchester was commanded by
General Torbert, the same who lost his
life by drowning, a few years since, off
the coast of Florida. i have no doubt
that he made his own investigation, and
became satisfied that the safeguard did
exactly the correct thing, and that a
court martial would be useless form
when the facts were so well known.
Nothing but reproach to the dead man
and his companion could have come
from the trial of Private Brigham;
so the whole business was wisely
dropped.
But / doubt if another instance of
such promptness and fidelity to orders
can be found in lad not two months
in the army. 1t is such stuff makes
heroes
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19
Humorous Mistakes.

Schoolmasters, in their daily routine
OF instruction, receive many curious
answers to the plainest questions. Boys
who are distinguished for certain
amount of originality, as well as those
whose wits are somewhat less acute than
the general run, often afford a hearty
laugh from careless blunder or
thoughtless reply. And it is sometimes
in vain that the teacher strives to keep
countenance and look severe at most
atrocious exposure of ignorance. Es-
specially in Scripture history do these
ludierous mistakes occur, and any one
who has read the answers to examina-
ton papers on this subject will have
come across many instances.
The correction of the Scripture pa
pers of a school to which / had been
appointed assis.an examiner once fell
to my lot. One of the questions asked
was:
who was John the Baptist, and
what was his mission?"
Among other extraordinary answers,
l found this:
He was stone-breaker, and had to
mend the roads so that they should be
good when Jesus went that way"
Another wrote his reply to the ques-
ton:
"Who was Matthew"
HE was a man what kept public
house"
For an account of the resurrection,
one boy said:
Lazarus was in q cave. and his head
was wrapt up In napkin, and he tried
to climb high tree. but could not, be-
cause he was small statue. And when
the cock crew he went out and wept
bitterly"
The ideas of this young gentleman
were evdentlr rather confused.
One day, in a geography lesson,
was wishing to get at the name st.
David's Head. but it was little fell
low, and he wanted lift, so / said,
suggestively:
We'll, who killed the giant CO.
liath?"
For moment there was puzzled
look on his face, and then, with a sud
den inspiration, he exclaimed:
"Oh, L know-Tom Thumb"
No doubt his mind was better stored
with fairy lore than holy writ, and he
had confused the story of the Lillipu
tian Tom Thumb with that of Jack the
Giant Killer.
During the same lesson helping
hand was needed to get at the name
ST. Bees Head. proposed:
What do you call those insects that
fly about in summer and make honey?"
"Oh, please, sir. gnats, sir" replied
the youngster, needing only the first
part of the question.
On another occasion, when endeavor-
ing to explain the meaning of the term
transient bliss, had got so far as to
call it passing happ ness" when a
small boy burst forth with:
"Oh, sir, kiss.
Evidently he knew too well that
kisses soon are past, and while they
last are sweet, and with the happy ex-
ample at his tongues end. could not
contain himself, but had to let the idea
have its own way and come out.-Lon-
dom Exchange.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

"Yas, sab, yas; an he mout claim de
moon, but dat doan mean dat he gwine
git it. It's my 'brella, sab; bought an
paid fur. / ken go an show yer war
1 bonght it-show yer de very place"
"How long have you had it?"
Bout two years.
@Must have kept it WELL"
Il has, sab. I allus takes kere o. de
property dat de Lawd lets me Gunner
late"
MY name is II. ID. Lane" said the
claimant. Hand the umbrella here
moment"
Old Gus began to argue, but the Off
Ger seized the umbrella and handed it
to the claimant, who, moving q silver
slide, disclosed his name.
"Old man, said the officer, shat is
sufficient. 1t is clear that you are q
thief"
"Git outen dis house. bof O. yer.
Git out. Wen or man comes slippin'
'roun' we're writin' his name on my
property wen L amt lookin', wy, 1
amt got no use fur him. l tell yer
w'ut," turning to his friends, "I'll
halter lock up dis yere house tighter.
Dat triflin' white pusson will slip in
an write his name on all desc yere
cabbages an cowcumbers. L reckon
eff he wuz ter write his name on me
wen l is ersleep he'd take me erway,
too. Oh, my dyin' sinner frien's, We
all halter be mighty keerful. 1t pains
me ter say so, but it is er plum flat
footed fack. Wall, eff everybody wuz
homes L doan reckon half de folks
would know w'ut ter do wild dar spar
time. But it is sad ter think erbout,
Brudder John; powerful sad. '-Ar-
kdnsdW TraUeler.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

ton how he came to join the army.
ments took their impetus from great
public meetings. "Nine-tenths Of all
the volunteers in the civil war joined
the army through the influence, direct
or indirect, of war meetings." he said.
"That is how I came to do 30 myself.
/ was addressing a big war meeting up
in the interior Of Michigan. / was
telling them all how they ought to vol
unteer and go to the front. Suddenly
one old fellow sung out: why don't
you go yourselfg / hadn't thought of
that before, and didn't know what to
say, except that 1 was going; and 1
went" He afterward became o colonel.
While captain, he stirred up serious
mutiny. At that time the Southern
planters were allowed to look through
the camps for runaway slaves and have
them returned. A planter claimed q
negro who had gone down with Reed
from Michigan, as his body servant,
saying that he had escaped from him
Just few weeks before. Reed refused
to give the man up. The general in
command ordered Reeds arrest. His
colonel refused to enforce the order,
and the regiment stood by him. A
brigade of Illinois troops was ordered
to quell the nut ny, but they man
aged to let the Michigan boys under
stand that in no case would they fire
on them.
The commander finally concluded to
drop the matter. The negro who was
the cause of the trouble had been in
Michigan for years, and the planter
had never seen him before. -Net0 York
Commercial AdUertiser.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

In the days of Sir Joshua REYNOLDS
very fine landscapes by such masters
as Claude, Poussln, uyp, Euysdael,
and Hobbema were to be bought for
200 or 800 guineas. and the highest for
a Claude was 1870 for that beautiful
picture known as 1.-The Enchanted
Castle in the sale of NJ. de Calonne's
(the French Ambas sador) collection in
1875 in London, and 900 for the COM
panion picture, described in the sale
catalogue as equally beautiful" but
which has now not been identified.
The prices, which evince high estimate
of Claude before the days of modern
landscape, are positively insignificant
compared to those paid at auction dur
ing the last twenty years for land
scapes and sea pieces by Turner, Con-
stable, David Cox, Copley, Fielding,
William Collins, W. Muller, Stanfield,
and Linnell. These go by thousands
instead of hundreds of guineas. And
Gainsborough comes into this honor
able account now, though his land
scapes while he painted them were
thought little of, and he died leaving
the passage and staircase of his rooms
in Schomberg House, Pail Mall, incum-
bered with them. Yet have we not
seen at Christie's his Market Cart"
bought for the National Gallery so far
back as 1928 at close upon 81, 90, and
just twenty years ago his Harvest
Wagon" for e., LAT les; in 1875 his
"Rustics of Road" for 3,465, and in
1Sl3 Peasants and Golfers Going TO
Market" e2,S35? These are figures
worthy of his genius. High prices for
pictures by Crome, Patrick Nasmith,
George Vincent, Gotham, and others
of the old school might also be quoted.
And still more forcibly to show the
increased appreciation of landscape
at the, present time. there are not to be
forgotten "The Chill October" Of Sir
John Millais, which sold for e3, 255 in
the Mendel sale, 1875, and in the pres
ent season. his "Over the Hills and
Far Away for So, 260. = Mn steenh
Ce1LturU.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

LEISURE Hours states that in Ger
many the blacksmith, when finishing a
horseshoe, punches a hole in the two
ends, and when the shoe is cold he
taps in q screw thread and screws into
the shoe. when on the horses foot, q
sharp-pointed stud of an inch in length,
and with shoes thus fitted the horse
travels securely over the worst possible
road; either when riding or driving
draught horses are shod in the same
way. When the horse comes to the
stable the groom unscrews the pointed
stud and screws in button, so that no
damage can happen to the horse, and
the screw holes are prevented from fill
ing. When the horse is going out the
groom takes out the button and screws
in the pointed stud, and there is no
fear of the horse coming back with bro
ken knees or strained sinews, and tho
public are spared the sight of horses
down or slipping in all directions.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

WHERE The WRECK OCCURRED.
he fulfilled, however, the rules OF the company
In throwing up the warning seniaphore, and the
fact that n fagman did not 60 hack of his train
until the rear brakeman saw the sparks of the
freight locomotive probably cut no figure in
the subsequent events. Under any circum-
stances the fagman would not have gone be-
yond the half-mile which the semaphore
marked. and the freight train could not have
stopped In that limit
The absence OF sand from the sand box of the
locomotive seems to be expressed, in slang par
lance. the absence of sand" from the entire
management OF both the passenger and the
freight trains. IL resembfed am ateur railroad
ing more than aught ese.
On visiting the wreck, although the company
had made the greatest efforts TO remove all
traces OF the calamity. tho wreckage still re-
naming tells too plainly the story OF the fear
fui impetus with which the freight engine
struck the Inflated passenger train. About ave
hundred feet Of the track had been relaid with
new sleepers and rails, the twisted and useless
rails and debris OF the passenger coaches being
thrown into the ditch ON side OF the track,
and the wreckage of six freight cars having
been thrown into the ditch on the other side OF
the track
The name of Mrs. John wensinger, of Can.
AIRY. Ohio. is on every tongue. She is the lady
that knocked n window through with a CLUB.
and rescued two unknown women and DIR.
Welch. OF spencerville, Ind who were impris-
oned by timbers, and they all say they would
have surely persisted had IL not been for the
timely assistance Of Mrs. Wensingsr.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

SCREWS that are too small for separ-
ate treatment may be cleaned from rust
as follows: Take pound of screws
and place them in q small box--a cigar
box will do; put small quantity of oil
on them and shake for q minute; then
put q piece of cotton waste in the box
and repeat for a minute finally, put a
handful of sawdust in the box and shake
for another minute or so, and remove
the sawdust by sitting it from the
screws in q fine sieve. The screws will
come out we'll cleaned.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-10-19

WORKING AT THE WRECK.
explanation is that he WAS not looking
down the track at that critical moment.
On both the rate of running and his outlook he
was taking friGhtful chances, and the throw Of
the die was against him
Another fact but lightly touched upon in the
evidence is full of Significance The engine was
without any protection against slippery track.
The sand-Dox was exhausted IL Is the
gineer's duty to see that his engine is supplied
with that safeguard against slipping wheels.
Had sand Been in the sand-box that night the
wheels would have held to the track, and while
the shock might not have been entirely avoided.
its severity would beyond doubt have been
greatly lessened. The engineers efforts to stop
his train on that down grade into the passenger
were almost useless, on this account. and from
all the facts at hand at this time II does not-ap-
pear that the heavy freight was Stacked up at
all in it's descent OF half mile
While any one Of those facts may not render